A brand narrative is as controlled by the consumers as it is by the companies. Not just online purchases but even offline purchases are being influenced by digital media. It is estimated that over 50% of today’s online population claim to do online comparison shopping when buying products online or offline.

Reviews, ratings and what friends are saying on social media about certain products are increasingly influencing decisions, beyond just pure marketing. This trend will only accelerate further.

We have already seen how online payments are changing the game as they offer an immediacy and accessibility that traditional channels just can’t compete with.

And now with new customers coming into the digital fold with GoI stack such as Aadhaar, Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM) and Digital Locker, we will find customers increasingly becoming more digital-friendly, and at the same time, new business models evolving. India is in the top five countries globally for YouTube, in terms of numbers of views and number of unique customers.

Hotstar was able to reach about 100 million customers in a very short time. At the same time, in line with global trends, attention spans are decreasing, and content is moving towards being more crisp and bite-sized.

Demand for branded apparel is growing twice as fast as the overall apparel market. It is expected to double in size over the next five years or so. This is not only driven by changes in FDI regulations on retail but also by factors including consumers’ need to showcase their individual identity, their willingness to pay for quality and comfort and, in certain cases, purely as a status symbol.

In semi-urban India, consumers continue to buy sachet-size products. But they will buy a branded smartphone the moment they are able to afford it — even though the only feature they will use is to call the 10-20 contacts typically on their phones.

Interestingly, while technology exposure is behaving as the grand leveller, the answer to providing a differentiated experience to the different cohorts also lies in technology. First, technology will give companies access to more data than ever possible before.

This will especially be new to Indian businesses, as India has traditionally been a data-deficient country. With this data, there is a real opportunity to personalise a customer’s experience either at a cohort or a micro-segment level, or even at an individual level. Successful businesses will be able to personalise most parts of a consumer’s journey with them.

Businesses can personalise the products and services they market to a customer not only based on what he’s purchased with them, but also on the basis of what he, or people like him, are saying on social media. Second, businesses will need to maintain continuous engagement with customers.

It will be a continuous drip versus isolated marketing events. With real-time data being available, companies will have to be able to react in real time too. Finally, there is a real opportunity to create digital-first brands.

In fashion and lifestyle, in three-five years, about 50% of the organised retail market will be online. Again, such brands will need to think about their products, distribution, and customers very differently than how traditional businesses have worked.

(The writer is CEO of Myntra-Jabong. Views expressed above are his own)